Stealing Home
by Kay Vegas
Summary: Daniel buys a new house. Takes place during Season 9.


Stealing Home

Daniel Jackson slowed down as he approached the house. He allowed himself just a moment of satisfaction before pulling into the driveway of his new (to him anyway) home. Buying houses was not his favorite pastime; well, actually he had only bought one other house, but that had ended up being a disaster.

He had liked that small bungalow on the outskirts of Colorado Springs at first. It had a nice back yard, with a small deck and a pretty good view of the Rockies, in the winter anyhow. It was a little harder to enjoy the view once spring came and the neighborhood trees got their leaves, though.

For the first time in his life, he had actually had to buy a lawnmower. Daniel smiled as he remembered what ended up being an entire day of shopping with Jack, as they went from store to store, comparing prices and features. Jack was determined that Daniel would have the perfect lawnmower for his size yard. Daniel wanted a push mower-Jack thought he ought to have a riding mower. Daniel had finally won the argument. It was his yard, after all. And the exercise would do him good, right?

As it turned out, the exercise had done him great! He soon learned that cutting the grass shirtless in cut-off blue jeans had been a wonderful way to meet women. It might have been his imagination, but it seemed that every time he cut the grass, at least one of his female neighbors would feel the need to jog past or walk her dog. And of course they would almost always stop to introduce themselves, welcome him to the neighborhood, etc.

That had been a novelty that he enjoyed at first. But he soon realized that there really weren't any single women on his street and he didn't want any of these women (or their husbands) to get the wrong idea about him. He was starting to feel like a guest star on Teal'c's newest obsession, "Desperate Housewives". Before long, tee shirts were back to being the grass-cutting uniform of the day. He still wore the cut-offs, though. After all, it was the principle of the thing.

Then there was that whole surveillance van blowing up in his front yard fiasco. He had never really recovered socially from that one. After he'd been released from the infirmary, several neighbors had come over to see how he was (or to see just what his story was, more likely). The gas line explosion cover story had started to wear a little thin to Daniel himself after a while. He could just imagine what everybody else thought. After that, most people just kept their distance.

Daniel had kept that house for all of eighteen months, but he had never really felt at home there. Maybe it was because he had lost so many of his personal belongings during the year he was, as Jack put it, in Oma land. Jack had kept some things, the smaller pictures and artifacts that could be packed into boxes and stored in his attic. But for the most part, Daniel had had to start over, and frankly the house looked like it had been furnished from a catalog. Actually, that was the case.

When he finally made the decision to put the bungalow on the market, it was with some trepidation. What if he couldn't find another house before this one sold? Moving back into an apartment was not an option. He was tired of dealing with nosey, noisy neighbors and walls that were entirely too thin. He grimaced as he remembered the Singletons, his next-door neighbors in his last apartment building. Their extremely exuberant, extremely vocal sex life had him sleeping on the sofa with a pillow over his head more nights than he cared to admit.

And of course, his reluctance to put his place up for sale before finding another residence was well founded. The house sold within three weeks and he was left high and dry, with nowhere to go. Sam's place was unavailable: she had rented it to a young airman and his wife when she transferred to Area 51. She was back now, but was renting a one bedroom apartment until her renters' lease ran out and she could move back in. Teal'c was no help. His attempt at living away from Cheyenne Mountain had failed miserably, so he was back in his familiar quarters at the SGC.

Then, of course, there was Jack. Jack had been transferred to Washington and had sold his cozy little house before he left. Daniel had loved that house. He loved the neighborhood and the quiet cul-de-sac where it stood all by itself. Most of all, he had loved that Jack always had a spare room with his name on it. Many was the time Daniel had ended up sleeping in Jack's guest room after Beer and Hockey Night had done him in.

Three weeks ago, he had been looking at one of those real estate magazines, the kind with pictures and descriptions of houses for sale. He had also picked up a copy of Apartments Today just in case, but he was determined not to have to use it. Flipping through the magazine, he skipped past the section marked "estate homes". It occurred to him that he probably could afford a home like that, but why would anyone want five bedrooms and four baths?

He almost missed it. He saw it for a split second and flipped on past it to the next page. Then his mind caught up with his hand, and he turned the pages back slowly until he found what he was looking for. There it was…the perfect house… HIS house. Small, compact, two bedrooms, two baths, a deck, plenty of trees…the price was right…he had to have it. Was it too late to call his agent? 11:30… Did other people stay up that late? After picking up the phone, he thought better of it and decided to wait until the next day.

She had been surprised to hear from him so early on a Saturday morning. Okay, maybe 7:30 had been a little early, but he had been excited and didn't want this one to get away. They had arranged to go see it later that day, although Daniel already knew he was going to buy it. He was afraid she would think he was crazy if he admitted that, so he had kept it to himself.

Now, three weeks later, here he was. They had closed on the house this morning and now it was officially his. He sat in his car in the driveway and just savored the moment. Finally he got out of the car and walked up to the front door. It was a little hard unlocking the door while balancing a grocery bag in one arm and a coffee maker in the other. Of course he could've made two trips, but that would've been too easy. Finally the door clicked open, and he pushed it the rest of the way with his foot. It was an oversized door, big and solid, made up of vertical rough-hewn boards.

Daniel glanced down as he crossed the entrance hall into the dining room and then turned right into the small kitchen. The hardwood floors looked to be in good shape. He could tell that they had been recently refinished. The surface was smooth and satiny. He could also smell the scent of fresh paint. The last owners had obviously put some work in the place and it showed.

He wasn't sure how he felt about the color. The walls were all painted a light sage green. He quickly did a mental survey of his furniture and wondered briefly how it would go with the new look. Of course, he could always talk Teal'c and Sam into helping him paint it. Beige would look good with anything. He thought briefly of asking Mitchell to help, too. Would that be too much, too soon? Maybe.

Putting the grocery bag and the coffeemaker on the counter, he gazed around his new kitchen. The last owners (the Andersons, he corrected) had left the refrigerator, washer and drier, so that was one headache he wouldn't have to deal with.

Soon the coffeemaker was plugged in and Daniel set about making his first pot of coffee in his new home, a celebration of sorts, he thought. He looked out the spacious windows into the back yard. The grass was thick and green and there were several trees, mostly evergreens but a few deciduous ones, too. Evidently the Andersons had children, because there was a rope swing hanging from the largest limb of the largest tree. Idly, he wondered if it would hold him…. Hmmm.

Pulling his gaze back inside, Daniel walked back into the small dining room and then let his attention fall on the living area. It was to his left, a few steps lower than the dining room, and it also had plenty of windows looking out over the side and back yards. There was a low wall separating the two rooms, making the space seem more open, larger somehow.

He walked down the three steps into the living room and thought how big it looked without furniture. He could already picture his leather sofa in that spot right below the opening to the dining room. It would be great to lie there and watch it snow.

There was a big stone fireplace against the back wall, and Daniel walked over there to rest his hand on its mantle. What pictures should he put up there? Sha're's, of course. Then there was an old picture of his family, made when he was just six. And of course there were pictures of SG1 that could go up there, the old team and the new one as well. Daniel smiled as he thought of other pictures that had graced this mantle over the years.

The coffee was through brewing, so he walked back to the kitchen and rummaged around in the bottom of his grocery bag until he felt the reassuring shape of his favorite mug. Jack had given it to him for Christmas his first year back from Abydos. How appropriate. He poured himself a cup (his first cup of coffee in his new home-OK, now he was getting sappy) and made his way down the L-shaped hall to the bedrooms on the front side of the house.

The first room he came to was the guest room. It really was on the small side, even without furniture. But it was an inviting room, very cheerful, and Daniel thought briefly about using it as his bedroom. But it really would make a better office, he realized. There would certainly be room in here for a sofa bed or a day bed, should Jack come to Colorado Springs for a visit and need a place to crash. Daniel smiled at the thought. How weird would that be?

Moving on down the hall, he stepped into the master bedroom, if you could call it that. It was pretty small too, if he was honest with himself. It was just big enough for a double bed, probably nothing bigger. Daniel snorted. Who was he kidding? He didn't need anything bigger. It wasn't like he "entertained" on a regular basis. But hey, maybe that would change now. Who knew? Yes, he would definitely use this bedroom. He didn't care if people kidded him about it or not. Hell, they were going to kid him enough anyway as it was.

Now that he had made that decision, he walked back to the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee. It was time to check out the deck.

The sun was just starting to set as he let himself out through the sliding door from the living room onto the deck. He was pleased to see that it too had been well maintained. His nose told him a new coat of sealer had been applied to the floor and the railings, and he felt a sneeze coming on because of it. Holding it back and trying to keep from spilling his coffee at the same time was a challenge, so he finally put the cup on the railing and just let himself go.

The deck had been built onto the side of the house rather than onto the back, an unusual configuration. Daniel had already decided that the first improvement he would make would be to extend it around the whole back of the house. That would provide a little more privacy and maybe, just maybe free up a place… for a hot tub? Well, why not? What a great way to unwind after a difficult mission.

He had to be careful, though. He didn't want to change things too much. The house had character just like it was, and that was what had drawn him to it in the first place. He didn't care what anyone else thought.

No grill. Evidently the Andersons had taken it with them. Oh well, he would have a good time picking out a new one. Daniel made a note to himself to invite everyone over for a cookout before it got too cold. He might as well get the ribbing over with. Ribs…He could do ribs on his new grill…

There was only one thing still left to do. He walked down the steps into the yard and made his way around to the other side of the house. Tucked away behind some bushes was a built-in ladder going up to a small deck on the roof. Daniel looked down at his coffee. Could he do it? Hell, he'd done it before. He could do it now. Balancing the cup on the highest rung he could reach, he carefully climbed up, moving the cup up as he went.

When he got to the top of the ladder, he looked around in appreciation. It had been a long time since he had been up here but it was remarkably unchanged. There was a wooden railing extending around the platform to keep small children (and drinking buddies) from falling off. Trees flanked it on one side and they had always given him the feeling of being in a tree house, something he had never had as a kid. All it needed was a sign saying "No Girls Allowed" to make the transformation complete.

Of course, the telescope was long gone. Jack had taken that with him. Although what he expected to see from the window of his Georgetown apartment, Daniel couldn't imagine. There would be way too many city lights to do any serious stargazing there.

What amazed him was the fact that his old redwood chaise lounge was still up here. Teal'c had helped him drag it up here years ago after he had bought it at a garage sale. Sure, the cushions were faded and mildewed, but they could be replaced. He found himself wondering if the Andersons had ever even come up here.

Daniel sat down gingerly on the edge of the seat, but realizing he in fact had on his oldest, grungiest jeans, he gradually let himself sink back into the cushions. Oh, he knew that Jack had used this old lounge when no one else was up here. He had told Daniel he had actually slept up here a few times. But when Daniel was over, this was his lounge alone. It was just understood.

He leaned back, sipped his coffee and looked up into the night sky. He could just make out where Abydos was, and he smiled as thoughts of his beautiful wife filled his head. How she would've loved this deck. Daniel had tried once to tell her about trees, and she had been enthralled with his description. She had been enthralled with him…

His thoughts were just starting to get maudlin when his cell phone rang. He reached into his pocket, pulled it out and checked the caller id. Jack. Perfect.

"Hi, Jack. Hey, you'll never guess where I am." "Yeah, I closed on it today." "What's it like? Well, you'll just have to come check it out sometime and see for yourself." " Yep, there's a guest room, and it's got your name on it!" "Well, the house is a little small… but I think you'll like it."

The End


End file.
